Update

Although a Comcast executive did not personally call and let me know it was happening, apparently God himself authorized it, and our HBO was activated sometime yesterday evening. Of course, shortly thereafter I discovered another TV-related disaster. Our Tivo had worked fine prior to the tech hooking up the cable box. But now, it will only record from one channel, and that channel happens to be the CW. Much as The Pit loves America's Next Top Model, we would like to occasionally watch something else.

I spent a fruitless afternoon rummaging behind the television, instructed by Eric, who happens to be chilling in Sweden with nothing better to do. We may or may not have diagnosed the root of the problem, but the solution remains elusive.

HOWEVER, during one of my forays behind the TV, I heard an ominous buzzing noise coming from the kitchen. I looked up, and saw some sort of multi-legged apparition flying around. Step one was of course to panic. After slamming the door to my bedroom and taking some deep breaths, I put on some armor (ie: pants*) and ventured back into the living room to take a closer look. It was at this point that I realized that I was watching not just one huge insect, but some unholy and unnatural union. Creeping yet closer, I discovered a gigantic wasp clasping a large spider in it's jaws. Dina has helpfully illustrated my discovery thusly:


Now I could have lived with maybe a bee or a large fly bouncing fruitlessly against the windows, but this was not going to work for me. So I gathered my courage and found an empty pickle jar, then stalked the wasp/spider duo until they landed on a suitably flat surface. At this point I attempted to capture the horrible combo in the jar. Unfortunately, my efforts caused the wasp to drop the spider, but most fortuitously, the thing was either dead, stunned, or paralyzed, because it just lay there.

Containing my revulsion, I captured the wasp and ran outside with it, nearly breaking the pickle jar in my attempts to release it without getting near it. Then I ran back upstairs and jarred the still dormant spider, as I didn't want to take any chances after my little unidentified bug bite experience. After I had appropriately disposed of all insect/arachnid invaders, it occurred to me to wonder where they had come from. All my windows are shut against the unbearable heat today, and it wasn't like these were small tiny bugs I might have missed earlier. So wtf...could they somehow have come in through the air-conditioning?

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* What? It's hot here!